$10,000 sculpture prize up for grabs

The 2019 Toorak Village Sculpture Exhibition is calling for entries. $16,500 in prizes available, including a $10,000 Best Sculpture Prize.
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Snail Play by Martin Moore, part of the 2012 Toorak Village Sculpture Exhibition, was the fourth sculpture purchased in 2012 for the permanent collection. Snail Play is displayed at 535 Toorak Road. Image supplied.

For all of May and the first two weeks of June Toorak Village, one of Melbourne’s inner south east suburbs, is taken over by sculpture with work exhibited in shop front windows and along the sidewalks of Toorak Road. 

Known as the Toorak Village Sculpture Exhibition, the event is a cultural experience that blends business with art and is coordinated by the Toorak Village Traders. 

‘The whole idea was to give artists a good opportunity with a twenty-four hour gallery. People can come and look at the exhibition at ten o’clock at night if they want to and it’s free,’ said Tony Fialides, Founder and Director of the exhibition and President of The Toorak Village Traders Association.

‘It is something that has been heavily embraced by the arts community and sculptors over the years.’

Call for entries

Now in its eighteenth year, Toorak Village Traders are calling for entries for the 2019 exhibition and have extended the closing date to Sunday 10 February. 

View the call out here

Toorak Village Traders welcome medium sized sculptures that will fit within a variety of shop window types and sizes. They are also looking for large sized extremely robust sculptures that can be bolted to the footpath along Toorak Road. All sculpture submissions must be original, for sale, and made in Australia within the last two years.

Due to the prominent location on the popular Toorak Village shopping strip, artists works are often sold during the exhibition explained Fialides.

‘One of the big things about this show is that not only can you win a prize, but each item — and this is important to stress — is for sale. If you have something for sale for $5,000, or it could be $500, you have the opportunity to win a prize and to sell it. There’s a good chance you will get some money in this show,’ he said. 

Betty Brixton by Sandie Wright, hand carved base and ceramic tile. Image supplied.

Categories

On offer is a massive $10,000 cash prize for the best judged sculpture in the exhibition, as well as three non acquisitive awards ($2,500, $1,500 and $2,500 Meridian Foundry Prize). 

Best Sculpture Prize
$10,000

Meridian Foundry Award
$2,500 for Bronze Casting

Toorak Village Traders Award
$2,500

Judges Encouragement Award
$1,500

Entry to the 2019 Sculpture Exhibition is now open and will close Sunday 10 February 2019. 

To find out more, visit toorakvillage.com.au/sculpture/call-for-entries

Brooke Boland
About the Author
Brooke Boland is a freelance writer based on the South Coast of NSW. She has a PhD in literature from the University of NSW. You can find her on Instagram @southcoastwriter.